41 years!!!

41 years! That is the amount of time that Tom and Barbara Mauhar have been married. The photo shoot was an "extended family session." One with Tom & Barbara Mauhar, all their children, and all their grandchildren. After discovering that they were married for 41 years on June 21st I decided it was worth writing about on the blog.

I asked Tom and Barbara what the "secret" it is to being married for 41+ years and this was their answer... "Love is a choice in the marriage relationship. Spend time together, hold hands, be a good listener, have patience, be forgiving, pray together daily. Keep God as the center of your marriage. We love having fun together. Dancing together, taking walks together, vacationing with just the two of us alone. We don't do everything separate... we genuinely enjoy being with each other. And when we reach the hard times, we turn to the Lord for guidance and praise him in the good times." They continued by saying "For us, divorce was never an option no matter how difficult it got. Marriage is a humbling process. It is a process of becoming more like Jesus and melting away of any selfishness within us. Marriage is a lifelong maturing process. Always be willing to work on it. If you are constantly trying to make progress in your marriage, God WILL bless that. But if you are not willing to work on it, a divide will be created." Barbara nearly brought me to tears when confessing that when times get hard she remembers how when she was going through cancer treatments, in and out of the hospital, he spent 24 nights on a roll-away bed with her. Loving her, comforting her, being there or her. She says, "His dedication, His persistence. It lets me know he DOES love me.. he WANTS to take care of me. That is so comforting because when you get older you change... You're not "beautiful" like you were when you were younger."

After chatting with one of their children, I discovered a little bit of what it was like to grow up in the Mauhar household. "Growing up with my mom & dad.... I learned a lot of things that I wanted to pass along to my own children. When I think of my parents... I think selflessness. I remember when I was a little girl, I was in a play and not only did they come to one showing of my play, but EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. They were always there supporting us in any activity. They were always offering us unconditional love, grace, and mercy. They have continued to show us that same unconditional love into adulthood. Extending it to our spouses and our children. They are always selflessly giving to our family and eager to meet any need when it arises. We are truly blessed to have them as our parents and love them very much."

Congratulations Tom & Barbara Mauhar on 41 years of marriage! Quite the accomplishment! Thank you for letting me photograph your beautiful family!